Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Rising trotting star Patched has made a good recovery from a worrying urinary tract infection and he simply outclassed the opposition when he set the pace and strolled to an effortless victory in the DTS Farm Fence Trot, a stand over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“The main thing tonight was that he showed that he was over the infection which affected him at his two previous starts,” said Pinjarra trainer David Young.
Patched, the $1.50 favourite, began smoothly for Aiden De Campo and he relished his pacemaking role as he was untroubled to beat $6 chance Son Of A Whiz by four lengths at a 2.5.2 rate on a muddy track.
This was his sixth win from eight starts in WA, after his 30 Victorian starts produced four wins and eleven placings.
“There’s no particular plan for him; we’re just happy to make hay while the sun is shining,” said Young. “He is owned in Melbourne by Vicki Woodhouse, the mother of Alison Alford, and if he goes through the grades here, we may nominate for the Interdominion Trotting Championship in Victoria in November and December.
“The times he is running here indicate that he could take another step. Tonight, Aiden didn’t pull the plugs and said that he was back to his best.”
Young’s only previous square gaiter was Conquer All, who won six races for him as an 11 and 12-year-old in 2012 and 2013. Now the five-year-old Patched appears certain to exceed the deeds of Conquer All.
Young also bred and owns a young mare he named Thats Not My Gait because she was a natural trotter, even though her sire Follow The Stars and her dam Forever Happy raced as pacers.
Young sent Thats Not My Gait to Victoria to be trained by Chris Alford, and the mare’s first 27 starts have produced four wins and eight placings for earnings of $43,528. She has finished second at her past two starts, at Geelong and Maryborough.